Retainer guidance for rinsing valves

ABSTRACT

A valve assembly includes a valve head. A valve stem extends from the valve head and into a drain bore in a housing. A first guidance retainer ring is mounted around the valve stem at a first axial location on the valve stem. A second guidance retainer ring is mounted around the valve stem at a second axial location on the valve stem spaced apart from the first axial location.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/111,767filed Dec. 4, 2020, which application claims the benefit of priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/090,524, filed on Oct.12, 2020. The disclosures of both of these previous applications areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to drains and drain valves, and moreparticularly to valve retainer guidance.

2. Description of Related Art

Main seal assembly guidance in rinsing valves traditionally has someshort comings that can later cause problems in the field. Stress causedby a retainer acting on the housing surface causes dents in the housingsurface and after time, it is possible for the valve to become stuck inone position.

The conventional techniques have been considered satisfactory for theirintended purpose. However, there is an ever present need for improvedsystems and methods for retainer guidance in drain valves. Thisdisclosure provides a solution for this need.

SUMMARY

A valve assembly includes a valve head. A valve stem extends from thevalve head and into a drain bore in a housing. A first guidance retainerring is mounted around the valve stem at a first axial location on thevalve stem. A second guidance retainer ring is mounted around the valvestem at a second axial location on the valve stem spaced apart from thefirst axial location.

The first guidance retainer ring can include an inner ring that forms afull 360° ring and an outer ring spaced radially apart from the innerring. The outer ring can form an incomplete ring less than a full 360°.The outer ring can contact the housing. At least one flow bore can bedefined through the first guidance retainer ring between the inner ringand the outer ring of the first guidance retainer ring. The at least oneflow bore can include two arcuate bores, with three spokes connectingthe inner and outer rings of the first guidance retainer ring. The firstand second guidance retainer rings can be identical in structure to oneanother.

The incomplete ring of the first guidance retainer ring can becircumferentially offset relative to the incomplete ring of the secondguidance retainer ring. The incomplete ring of the first guidanceretainer ring can be circumferentially offset by 180° relative to theincomplete ring of the second guidance retainer ring.

In a first position the valve head can be spaced apart from an openingof the valve bore, and in a second position the valve head can be sealedagainst the opening of the valve bore. The first and second guidanceretainer rings can follow the valve head and valve stem moving betweenthe first and second positions when moving relative to the housing. Thevalve stem and the first and second guidance retainer ring can maintaina net of zero force in a radial direction relative to a longitudinalaxis of the valve stem.

These and other features of the systems and methods of the subjectdisclosure will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the artfrom the following detailed description of the preferred embodimentstaken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that those skilled in the art to which the subject disclosureappertains will readily understand how to make and use the devices andmethods of the subject disclosure without undue experimentation,preferred embodiments thereof will be described in detail herein belowwith reference to certain figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of an embodiment of avalve assembly constructed in accordance with the present disclosure,showing the guidance retainer rings;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the valve assembly of FIG. 1 , showing the flowbores through one of the guidance retainer rings; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of the valve assembly ofFIG. 1 , showing the valve head, the valve stem, and the guidanceretainer rings in a second position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like referencenumerals identify similar structural features or aspects of the subjectdisclosure. For purposes of explanation and illustration, and notlimitation, a partial view of an embodiment of a valve assembly inaccordance with the disclosure is shown in FIG. 1 and is designatedgenerally by reference character 100. Other embodiments of systems inaccordance with the disclosure, or aspects thereof, are provided inFIGS. 2-3 , as will be described. The systems and methods describedherein can be used to provide valve retainer guidance for movement of avalve stem within a housing.

The valve assembly 100 includes a valve head 102. A valve stem 104extends from the valve head 102 and into a drain bore 106 in a housing108. A first guidance retainer ring 110 is mounted around the valve stem104 at a first axial location on the valve stem 104. A second guidanceretainer ring 112 is mounted around the valve stem 104 at a second axiallocation (along longitudinal axis A) on the valve stem 104, spaced apartfrom the first axial location.

With reference now to FIG. 2 , the first guidance retainer ring 110includes an inner ring 114 that forms a full 360° ring around the valvestem 104. The first guidance retainer ring 110 also includes an outerring 116 spaced radially apart from the inner ring 114 relative to thelongitudinal axis A shown in FIG. 1 . The outer ring 116 forms anincomplete ring, less than a full 360°, e.g. extending only about 240°around the circumference around the longitudinal axis A of FIG. 1 . Theouter ring 116 contacts the housing 108. A pair of arcuate flow bores118 are defined through the first guidance retainer ring 110 between theinner ring 114 and the outer ring 116. Three spokes 120 connect theinner and outer rings 114, 116. Those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that any suitable number or shape of flow bores and spokescan be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Theflow bores 118 allow for fluids to pass through the drain bore 106,flowing through the first guidance retainer ring 110.

Referring again to FIG. 1 , the second guidance retainer ring 112 can bestructurally identical to the first guidance retainer ring 110, and theouter ring 116 of each contacts the housing 108. The incomplete outerring 116 of the first guidance retainer ring 110 is circumferentiallyoffset by 180° relative to the incomplete outer ring 116 of the secondguidance retainer ring 112. This is shown in FIG. 1 , where the outerring 116 of the first guidance retainer ring 110 extends more fully tothe right as oriented in FIG. 1 , and the outer ring 116 of the secondguidance retainer ring 112 extends more fully to the left as oriented inFIG. 1 . In a first position, shown in FIG. 1 , the valve head 102 isspaced apart from an opening 122 of the valve bore 106. This positionallows flow through the drain bore 106. In a second position, shown inFIG. 3 , the valve head 102 is sealed against the opening 122 of thevalve bore 106, preventing flow through the valve bore 106. The firstand second guidance retainer rings 110, 112 follow the valve head 102and valve stem 104 when moving between the first and second positions,i.e. when moving relative to the housing 108 to open and close the valveassembly 100. The valve stem 104 and the first and second guidanceretainer rings 110, 112 maintain a net of zero force in a radialdirection relative to a longitudinal axis A of the valve stem 104, i.e.in a direction to the right and left in FIGS. 1 and 3 . This reduceswear between the housing 108 and the first and second guidance retainerrings 110, 112. This can provide similar pressure drop relative totraditional guidance techniques, but can decrease forces acting on aretainer relative to traditional techniques. The reduction in forces canimprove valve reliability and lifetime.

The methods and systems of the present disclosure, as described aboveand shown in the drawings, provide for valve retainer guidance formovement of a valve stem within a housing with improved performancerelative to traditional techniques. While the apparatus and methods ofthe subject disclosure have been shown and described with reference topreferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat changes and/or modifications may be made thereto without departingfrom the scope of the subject disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A valve assembly comprising: a valve head; avalve stem extending from the valve head and into a drain bore in ahousing; a first guidance retainer ring mounted around the valve stem ata first axial location on the valve stem; and a second guidance retainerring mounted around the valve stem at a second axial location on thevalve stem spaced apart from the first axial location, wherein the firstguidance retainer ring includes an inner ring that forms a full 360°ring and an outer ring spaced radially apart from the inner ring by afirst plurality of spokes, wherein the outer ring forms an incompletering less than a full 360° and forms a circumferentially extendingbridge across the spokes of the first plurality of spokes, wherein theouter ring of the first guidance retainer ring contacts the housing,wherein the second guidance retainer ring includes an inner ring thatforms a full 360° ring and an outer ring spaced radially apart from theinner ring by a second plurality of spokes, wherein the outer ring formsan incomplete ring less than a full 360° and forms a circumferentiallyextending bridge across the spokes of the second plurality of spokes,wherein the outer ring of the second guidance retainer ring contacts thehousing, wherein the incomplete ring of the first guidance retainer ringis circumferentially offset relative to the incomplete ring of thesecond guidance retainer ring.
 2. The valve assembly as recited in claim1, wherein in a first position the valve head is spaced apart from anopening of the valve bore, and in a second position the valve head issealed against the opening of the valve bore.
 3. The valve assembly asrecited in claim 2, wherein the first and second guidance retainer ringsfollow the valve head and valve stem moving between the first and secondpositions when moving relative to the housing.
 4. The valve assembly asrecited in claim 3, wherein the valve stem and the first and secondguidance retainer ring maintain a net of zero force in a radialdirection relative to a longitudinal axis of the valve stem.
 5. Thevalve assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one flow bore isdefined through the first guidance retainer ring between the inner ringand the outer ring of the first guidance retainer ring.
 6. A valveassembly comprising: a valve head; a valve stem extending from the valvehead and into a drain bore in a housing; a first guidance retainer ringmounted around the valve stem at a first axial location on the valvestem; and a second guidance retainer ring mounted around the valve stemat a second axial location on the valve stem spaced apart from the firstaxial location, wherein the first guidance retainer ring includes aninner ring that forms a full 360° ring and an outer ring spaced radiallyapart from the inner ring, wherein the outer ring forms an incompletering less than a full 360°, wherein the outer ring of the first guidanceretainer ring contacts the housing, wherein the second guidance retainerring includes an inner ring that forms a full 360° ring and an outerring spaced radially apart from the inner ring, wherein the outer ringforms an incomplete ring less than a full 360°, wherein the outer ringof the second guidance retainer ring contacts the housing, wherein atleast one flow bore is defined through the first guidance retainer ringbetween the inner ring and the outer ring of the first guidance retainerring, wherein the at least one flow bore defines a radially outer boreboundary, wherein the outer ring of the first guidance retainer ringextends circumferentially across the radially outer bore boundary. 7.The valve assembly as recited in claim 6, wherein in a first positionthe valve head is spaced apart from an opening of the valve bore, and ina second position the valve head is sealed against the opening of thevalve bore.
 8. The valve assembly as recited in claim 7, wherein thefirst and second guidance retainer rings follow the valve head and valvestem moving between the first and second positions when moving relativeto the housing.
 9. The valve assembly as recited in claim 8, wherein thevalve stem and the first and second guidance retainer ring maintain anet of zero force in a radial direction relative to a longitudinal axisof the valve stem.
 10. The valve assembly as recited in claim 6, whereinat least one flow bore is defined through the first guidance retainerring between the inner ring and the outer ring of the first guidanceretainer ring.